Budapest International Airport
Katona Sarolta, Head of Sustainability at BUD Airport
Katona manages, coordinates and promotes Budapest Airport’s environmental and sustainability programs. She is responsible for shaping the sustainability vision and creating an ambitious strategy that underpins future growth plans.
About Stargate’s fellow airport
Budapest International Airport “Ferenc Liszt” (BUD) is Hungary’s main airport accounting for 95% of passenger flights to and from Hungary, in addition to a fast-growing turnover of air cargo. Skytrax recognized BUD as being the “Best Airport in the CEE region” for the past 9 years, demonstrating its safe, efficient and ethical operation.
Budapest Airport is committed to its further development enabling traffic growth, while at the same time reducing emissions and the negative impact of airport operations on the environment. BUD assumes an active role in promoting sustainability, aiming to become Net Zero Carbon in as early as 2035.
Smart future
The Stargate project contributes to these goals in the short and medium term and will lead to substantial changes in the long term.
Our dream outcome would be to create a sustainable and smart twenty-first century airport concept and operating model, not only for the Stargate airports but also for those outside the consortium.
As a fellow airport, Budapest Airport provides expertise in IT and financial modelling. Digitalising and optimising the cargo activities represents a major challenge that Stargate may help to overcome.
Digital Twin
Budapest Airport is highly interested in the potential of the Digital Twin solution developed by IES, which allows for uncovering significant energy, carbon, capital and operational savings by using real-time building information. The Intelligent Terminal Command Centre will integrate data from different sources that can be transformed by Artificial Intelligence to predict detailed energy needs and support decision makers with valuable information.
Cargo Community System
The first step in the optimisation of Budapest Airport’s growing cargo activities would be to implement a Cargo Community System. The different community partners (handlers, forwarders, airlines, agents, authorities etc.) already showed great interest in using a common communication platform for cargo data flows, offering a digitalised support of operational and business processes.
Brussels Airport’s BRUcloud tool constitutes a major source of inspiration, creating digital green lanes that optimise cargo flows and reduce emissions. A similar solution would allow Budapest Airport to become more competitive and sustainable.
Maintaining the momentum
What is challenging yet critical for the Stargate consortium is to maintain the momentum throughout the entire duration of the project. Budapest Airport believes in a hands-on mentality to achieve this goal:
It surely helps that the projects have a clear strategic impact. We keep our colleagues involved in the decision-making process and make sure to take ownership over concrete activities through unbiased meetings in which forward-thinking suggestions are welcomed.